I am interested in the Sony MVC-CD400 digicam. I would like to read some feedback from owners. How is image quality, especially people pics in low-light conditions? How about 8x10" prints on an inkjet printer (I have an Epson 785EPX)? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!

Hi there, I am the Publications Director for a small independent school. I have been using a CD400 for a while now and I am deeply impressed with its image quality and flexability. In short, after a few months here at school, it has me totally rethinking my personal film camera setups.

These items are highly recomended. However the battery system is so good you could almost do without the extra.

The only gripes I come up with is that it's super easy to overexpose shots with the HVL1000 flash, even set on the "low" setting, and that I still can't adjust to the lack of a true optical viewfinder. But I'm starting to get over that.... also I wish it had just one more megapixel so I can get a good 8x10 from a small portion of the frame.

What blows me away is the auto white balance, this one feature alone is enough to make me rethink all film cameras for indoor photography. It plain works great. This is great low-light camera. Using the focus assist laser or the IR light on the flash, it will accurately focus under most any condition (unfortunately, it's difficult to confirm focus without a TTL viewfinder-you just have to belive it).

Noise is pretty low. The lens is very sharp and fast. Nice colors. Sweet.

For indoor people pictures, angle the HVL1000 flash upward 45 degrees and soften the light with a sto-fen, or if you're cheap like me, use a white plastic deli bag, rubber banded over the flash head. This will give you a beautiful, soft, filled-in flash with no red-eye. The HVL1000 can also be used to fill in shadows in harsh daylight conditions. It's fantastic for $100....